Buzz

DIA attendance up 45 percent since renovations

Related Tags

In this last year since the DIA went through their enormous renovation, attendance has increased 45 percent. Some have loved it and some
haven't. The Freep have gathered reactions from both camps.

Excerpt:

In
the year since the Detroit Institute of Arts reopened after a
$158-million renovation, about 540,000 visitors have explored the
museum, a 45% increase in attendance over a typical year that did not
include a blockbuster exhibition.

The crowds were met by the
most sweeping reinvention of the DIA since it moved into its home on
Woodward in 1927. Architect Michael Graves' marbled design expanded the
galleries and untangled the old floor plan. More revolutionary, the
entire permanent collection was reinstalled, driven by director Graham
Beal's populist mantra of accessibility. The results were thematic
displays, big interpretive labels in plain English and interactive
elements, like videos and flip booklets.